Judgement Error
by daringu
Summary: Kabapu thinks back on someone he trained to be his successor, long ago.


Title: Judgement Error  
Author: Manda  
Category: General  
Pairing/Warning: None  
Disclaimer: Not mine.   
Spoilers: Manga v4  
  
We were at one of those silly dress parties where our goal was simply to be seen and to make contact. What kind of contact didn't matter too much; I wanted to let those most influential people in Fukuoka know that I was still in charge and that I was even training a successor.  
  
You didn't wear ridiculous costumes back then as my intelligence men tell me you do now. You had short hair, full, _normal_ glasses, wore suits. I picked those suits, but you never complained. You never complained when I took you to the parties, or showed you the extent of Shioji's research, or watched the news and saw that the economy was falling again. I handed you the intelligence report that the yakuza were centering a few operations here, and you merely raised an eyebrow and said "It will be good for business."  
  
So it was with great pride that I introduced the man who would become my successor to fellow governmental employees, business associates, the wealthy and powerful. They were surprised, thinking that I would be in control for as long as Fukuoka exists. That's the biggest secret you hold, you know: the knowledge that I can die, and the formula of the serum that will accelerate my death. I made a mistake in trusting you with that because you were so eager and you shared my goals wholly. Until that night.  
  
The beautiful, the wealthy, and the powerful surrounded us in kimonos and suits and dresses of the brighest colors, for it was a spring celebration. You and I stood near the food table (you always liked the more expensive sushi) and you lurked behind me in the shadows. A couple approached and the four of us chatted briefly; a pretty young daughter of a debunte approached you, asking to dance, and you denied politely. Romance never interested you, like it never did me.  
  
A serving girl with blonde hair wandered up, offered the four of us wine. I and the couple accepted, you did not. I found myself in a conversation about the newest television shows and did not notice you leaning on one of the many pillars in the room, talking to the girl.  
  
I don't know if she promised you the world, but you gave up Fukuoka on a gold plate for her.  
  
The change was immediate after that night. You smiled constantly, you gazed at me intently with your yellow eyes when I spoke but I knew you didn't listen. You watched popular programming instead of the news, and I searched your room when you were out.  
  
There were letters hidden inside a pile of reports I had given you. Letters in a needlessly hiragana-filled scrawl from that girl about silly things like clothing, school (she was in high school!), and trips to coffee shops. Occasionally, trips to coffee shops with you.  
  
I was disappointed in you. You had developed a friendship with a girl nowhere near your status and it was distracting you from what you had volunteered to do and had so much talent for. The most recent letters discussed plans between you and her to purchase an apartment together in a few weeks.  
  
It would not do to have that happen, to have you walk away with two years of my training and my secrets under you belt.  
  
So I as a warning had her attacked by a band of thugs. She was stabbed in your presence, or so I was told. With the skills I taught you traced the attack back to me.  
  
You strode into my office the next day. Momochi in the outside office didn't flinch as you slammed the door behind you.  
  
"You had her stabbed," you said, emotionless.  
  
"What did you expect me to do?"  
  
"Anything but that. I see you for what you are now. This," and you gestured out the window at the cityscape, "-is nothing but a plaything for you. You've lived too long and are bored and therefore careless. I will take this city, but not your way."  
  
"Will you?" I asked as a couple bodyguards burst out of my closet. They knocked you out with a single blow to the head.  
  
I couldn't give the order to kill you. Perhaps it was because I wanted competition, a rival who I can use my technology against, something _ interesting_ to happen in this damned town.   
  
They dumped you in a alleyway after taking everything that belonged to me. They raided the apartment I gave you and changed the locks effectively by banging them in.  
  
My intelligence watched you as you took to the sewers. You donned ridiculous clothing. It made you feel more righteous, I suppose.  
  
But I didn't know that you had reproduced some of Shioji's technology and made her live again until I ran into her yesterday. She had a major internal injury - is this how you treat her now?  
  
I don't blame her so much for making you change. You changed, so you had the capacity to change in the first place.  
  
It scares me because I made a wrong choice in you. My judgement fades. I approach real death.


End file.
